All the Small Things
by ManofManyHats
Summary: Bite-sized stories of the in-betweens of Avatar. Chapter 3: Sokka is the fun uncle of the gaang, and everyone abuses the fact.
1. The old man's nephew

**Written for the Pro-bending Circuit | Toza's Gym, Sauna**

 **Word count: 125  
Characters: Zuko/Toph**

* * *

They're standing off in the middle of a ghost town, it is sweltering hot and they're all sleep deprived. There's one heartbeat Toph doesn't recognize. It pounds next to the old man she'd met a little while ago - ( _Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights._ ) - what was he doing here?

The unknown guy's stance is tense, built like a firebender, and his heart roars like his entire life depended on this moment.

 _(He's trying to figure out who he is and he went away.)_

Could that be…

 _(So where is your nephew?...Is he lost?  
_ _...Yes, a little bit.)_

The old man gets hit by a bolt of fire and falls. The guy screams. That's all the answer she needs.


	2. Teal is not a manly color

**Set in Ember Island, sometime before the comet.**

 **Prompt: Teal**

* * *

"Katara… Katara… I'm sorry, but… what is _this_?" Sokka pinched the offending garment in his outstretched hand, grimacing as if it might give him the flu.

"Your birthday present." Katara deadpanned. "I really thought you'd be more excited."

"It's the thought that counts, I guess, but... do you not have eyes?"

"What? You love bags! You love anything that has to do with shopping, especially when you're not using your own money! What's wrong with it?" Katara had spent a pretty penny at the Ember Island market that day, and her brother's reaction was turning out less than worth it.

"Number one: it's not even my birthday, you missed it by like two months."

"We were a little busy getting away from Ba Sing Se, if you don't remember. And in case you forgot, you got me an ice sculpture for _my_ birthday… I don't even know what it was supposed to be!"

"I told you, it melted."

"We were at the North Pole!"

"Whatever! Number two: this color is just… ugh. Don't you think, Suki?" He turned to the steps of the beach house, where the others sat and watched.

"I thought it was nice. Blue with a little green. Blue is kinda a Water Tribe thing, isn't it?"

Sokka made an offended sound. "I don't know what blue you've been looking at, but this is not _blue_. This… this is…"

Sokka shook his head as if he couldn't even fathom a name.

"Teal?" Aang piped up in the middle of Sokka's mournful silence.

"Ugh. _Teal._ Teal is not a manly color." He kneaded the cloth in his hands, as if the color would wash away the longer he stared at it. "I didn't even know the Fire Nation made things in this color."

"It was half off." Zuko confessed, even though Katara was making some agressive 'keep quiet' gestures at him. "Why do you think we bought it?"

Sokka was about ready to throw a tantrum.

"Suck it up, Snoozles." Toph stopped him. "It's just a ' _color_ '. If I can't tell the difference, it's not that important."

Sokka took a break from being offended at his gift, to be doubly offended at the earthbender. "Color is _so_ important. For example: blue. Good. Powerful. Makes you think the sky and the sea. Looks great on a shirt. Red and black? Bad. Dangerous. _Fire Nation_."

"Hey!" Zuko interjected.

"Teal? No one can pull off teal."

Toph nodded, as if taking the info to heart. "Earth is brown, right? What do you think about brown?"

Sokka tapped a finger to his chin. "Hmm, brown… It's all right. Kinda one of those base colors, like black and white. Has a nice warm feel to it. Also has the added benefit of not staining easily. Brown is good."

Brown was not nearly as nice when Toph bent a load of mud and dumped it on his head.

"How's that then? Better than teal?"


	3. The fun uncle

**Prompt: "This is not how I pictured I'd be spending my Saturday night"**

* * *

After a strenuous week of being Mr. Councilman, Sokka was ready to kick back and enjoy his weekend off. He glanced at the phone on his desk and wondered if maybe Toph was free to roam the streets with him. Before he could even make the call, a knock came from his door.

Opening the front door, Sokka's eyebrow quirked. "Aang? Katara?"

Three high pitched voices answered instead. "Uncle Sokka!"

"Hey, kiddos!" Bumi, Kya and Tenzin dashed between his legs and into his house before he could even blink. "Hey! Hey, get back here!"

"Have fun kids!" Aang called.

Sokka's head whipped back around. "Woah, woah, woah - hold up. What is this?"

"You're looking after them tonight." His sister smirked a less than innocent smirk.

"Says who?" He squinted.

"Says _you_. You owe us. We stopped your spat with the Earth Kingdom ambassador from reaching headlines and you promised you'd look after the kids 'any time, any place'."

"The woman had it coming. She called me 'shallow' and 'two steps from an idiot'; completely unprofessional."

Katara whispered aside. "Just because it was unprofessional doesn't mean it's not true."

"What?"

"Nothing." His sister laid a hand on her husband's arm. "Aang and I planned a whole night out, alright Sokka? Please, just this once. Besides, it'll be good for you."

Sokka's arguments were left hanging in his open mouth. The two shouted "Bye kids!" one last time before disappearing into the Republic City streets.

He scrambled past the rowdy kids, into his room and rang up the phone. "Toph, you will not believe what just happened."

"I think I can handle it, Snoozles," was her garbled answer.

"Aang and Katara just left the kids with me! All of them! For the entire night!"

"You're serious?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

"That's a trick question. I'll be right over."

Sokka cheered up a bit at that. Her voice hung up, but soon enough, there was a familiar bang on his front door.

"Toph, you're here! You're…" His happy tone slid into something more tired. "Hi, kiddos..."

Lin and Suyin waved hi back.

"I heard you were babysitting tonight. Have fun with Uncle Sokka little guys. If he's not dead on his feet by the end of the night, you're not doing it right."

The door closed, the three kids were now five strong, and Sokka rubbed a hand over his face.

"This is not how I pictured I'd be spending my Saturday night," he muttered, before shaking out the funk.

"Fun Uncle. I am the Fun Uncle." He turned to the band of little ones with a smile. "Hey, kids, who wants to do some finger painting?"


End file.
